Sheldon wrote:

> "jmcquown" wrote:
> > James Silverton wrote:
> >
> > > It is probably OT for this group but I had to look at the new
> > > postal rates this morning since I had some heavier letters to
> > > send. The US Post Office seems to have done a wonderful job of
> > > complicating things with no simple formula applicable over a
> > > large range. Have a careful look at letter post rates if you
> > > have to go from 3 oz to 4 oz.
> >
> > > Fortunately, most things I mail to Europe and Canada are under 2
> > > oz but the 1 oz increments are really erratic!
> >
> > > A rationale for the new rates is that they will increase
> > > efficiency but it seems to me that they will increase business
> > > at the actual post offices!
> >
> > For anything other than a standard letter I use the USPS web site and do
the
> > click & ship mail option to print postage (shipping labels) on my
printer.
> > Of course, you have to know the size of the package and the weight, but
it
> > saves a trip to to the post office.
>
> I get my mail at my PO Box, so I go to the PO once or twice a week
> anyway, so no problem for me. And the majority of the mail I send is
> letters less than an ounce or packages more than a pound, it's very
> rare I have something inbetween. I seem to over buy postage stamps...
> I'm still working on using up my 37 cent stamps, haven't even gotten
> to all the 39 cent stamps I bought, and now it's already 41 cents.
> I'll just have to buy a few more sheets of penny stamps. At the rate
> they keep upping the price I'll probably never need to buy 41 cent
> stamps. I still remember when for quite a few years 1st class letters
> cost 3 cents... and there are no more Air Mail stamps. Postage hasn't
> really increased much over so many years, it's still the best bargain
> on the planet. I really don't mind all these inconsequential changes,
> makes life a bit more interesting... I think anyone who finds time to
> carp about the cost of a postage stamp hasn't much of a life.
>


Adjusted for inflation, the cost of a First Class stamp has changed very
little over the past century, it's indeed a great bargain. And when you say
"planet", you are correct, the cost of a First Class stamp in other
developed industrial nations is *much* higher than here in the States, IIRC
the rate in the UK is almost now 70 cents, other countries are similarly
high...


> My only complaint is that now all the stamps are self-stick/no-lick...
> killed stamp collecting... not that the stamps produced in recent
> years are of a quality worth collecting... cheapo paper and they all
> look like they came off a bubble jet printer, newsprint is better
> quality.


My mom was a postmaster, I collected stamps back when I was a kid in the
mid - 60's. I remember the glue had a distinct (and rather pleasant,
actually) smell, it's one of those childhood "scent memories" that I
retain...where did all those nice plate blocks go? The US had some
beautiful philatelic releases in the 1960 - 70 decade...

Stamp collecting was a good hobby, learned all about geography. I had
penpals all over the world, too, that was another good hobby for a kid.
Both, sadly, seem to have fallen somewhat by the wayside. It was a big
thrill to get a letter from India or West Germany or Australia or Japan or
Czechoslovakia or wherever, the stamps and the stationery were all different
and interesting...especially to me, I grew up totally surrounded by
cornfields in an isolated rural area. For better or worse, the internet has
changed most everything...

--
Best
Greg